Photograph copyright 2006 Edward Caldwell
Feature: Green Living
November 1, 2006
In the 1960s and ’70s, “green” homes were often synonymous with earth-berm
buildings and funky structures covered in nascent solar panels. Aesthetics, it
seemed, were not part of the equation.
Fortunately, that is no longer the case. The ensuing decades have greatly
improved the appearance of green homes, while tremendous leaps in technology have made them as
functional and luxurious as traditionally built houses. There is even a term to describe the current wave
of green building: “second-generation ecological design.”
Arkin Tilt Architects
“We’re really integrating everything we’ve learned
from the early experiments and putting those things together in appealing
ways,” says David Arkin, whose Berkeley-based firm, Arkin Tilt Architects, is a leader in eco-conscious architecture. “In our minds, it’s not green
design, it’s good design, the way all buildings should be created.” Arkin’s approach—and his expertise in solar
energy—made him the architect of choice for Suzanne Johnson, a board member of Sunrise
Sustainability Resources Group in Reno, Nev., which advocates sustainability and renewable energy.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
The main stairwell. Photograph copyright 2006 Edward Caldwell. (Click image to enlarge)
“I set out to show that you can do a solar home and it doesn’t need to look
the way it did back in the ’70s,” Johnson explains. Arkin’s design for her 3,500-square-foot home in
Gardnerville, Nev., in the Eastern Sierra, has earned kudos for its bold design and innovative
green-building techniques.
The house incorporates virtually all aspects of green architecture: solar
power to generate electricity, heat and hot water; highly insulating
straw-bale construction
and sod roofing; recycled materials used in
clever, new ways; less toxic building materials; and
radiant heat,
considered a more efficient, energy-saving method. The home has no
air-conditioning,
yet remains a comfortable 76 degrees during a heat
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The architects employed non-toxic materials for the living spaces. Photograph copyright 2006 Edward Caldwell. (Click image to
enlarge)
At first glance, the house appears to be traditionally powered, though
contemporary in style. With its dramatic peaked roofs, deep overhangs
with exposed rafters and large expanses
of glass, the structure juts
out of the landscape much like the Sierra Nevada beyond.
“The character
really grows out of a careful study of the climate and the
site and
reacts to being against the mountains,” Arkin observes. “It’s a modern design
that’s rooted
in its place.”
The guesthouse and garage were
tucked into the landscape. Their roofs are
covered by part of a
sagebrush meadow, providing natural insulation.
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